Gothic Texts for Comparison
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Summary – Dorian has his portrait painted at a young age. He lives a hedonistic
lifestyle for 18 years. This portrait takes on his sins and signs of ageing.
Eventually, he dies trying to break the curse this portrait has cast on his life
Gothic Tropes
- Uncanny: The portrait is simultaneously his doppelganger and not his
doppelganger
- Transgressive Sexuality: Homosexuality
- Faustian Bargain: When someone makes a pact with the devil to trade
something of supreme importance (like the soul) for a material benefit
The Little Stranger
Summary – It focuses on an aristocratic family in post-war Britain, whose estate
is crumbling, due to a series of supernatural encounters. It uses the supernatural
to explore the issues with the declining British upper-class in the mid twentieth
century.
Gothic Tropes
- Control: Faraday took no heed of Caroline’s wishes, instead he consistently
prioritised his own desires
- Supernatural: As a man of science, Faraday struggled to understand what
was going on around him
- Class Divisions: Faraday worked hard to become a doctor and earn respect
in society, so he is angered when Caroline breaks off the engagement,
stopping him from being a part of the upper-class
Dracula
Summary – Follows Jonathan Harker, an English Lawyer who travels to
Transylvania to strike a real-estate deal with Count Dracula. On his way, he is
warned by locals about the Count and given crucifixes to ward off evil.
Gothic Tropes
- Byronic Hero: Count Dracula is simultaneously alluring and terrifying
- Supernatural: Shapeshifting, as he is a vampire
- Damsel in Distress: Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker and frequently put in
positions of risk, where they need a male saviour, they embody the
quintessential Gothic heroines
Beloved
Summary – It follows Sethe, a former slave who struggles to grapple with the
trauma of her previous enslavement and come to terms with her desperate act
of infanticide to save her child from slavery.
Gothic Tropes
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Summary – Dorian has his portrait painted at a young age. He lives a hedonistic
lifestyle for 18 years. This portrait takes on his sins and signs of ageing.
Eventually, he dies trying to break the curse this portrait has cast on his life
Gothic Tropes
- Uncanny: The portrait is simultaneously his doppelganger and not his
doppelganger
- Transgressive Sexuality: Homosexuality
- Faustian Bargain: When someone makes a pact with the devil to trade
something of supreme importance (like the soul) for a material benefit
The Little Stranger
Summary – It focuses on an aristocratic family in post-war Britain, whose estate
is crumbling, due to a series of supernatural encounters. It uses the supernatural
to explore the issues with the declining British upper-class in the mid twentieth
century.
Gothic Tropes
- Control: Faraday took no heed of Caroline’s wishes, instead he consistently
prioritised his own desires
- Supernatural: As a man of science, Faraday struggled to understand what
was going on around him
- Class Divisions: Faraday worked hard to become a doctor and earn respect
in society, so he is angered when Caroline breaks off the engagement,
stopping him from being a part of the upper-class
Dracula
Summary – Follows Jonathan Harker, an English Lawyer who travels to
Transylvania to strike a real-estate deal with Count Dracula. On his way, he is
warned by locals about the Count and given crucifixes to ward off evil.
Gothic Tropes
- Byronic Hero: Count Dracula is simultaneously alluring and terrifying
- Supernatural: Shapeshifting, as he is a vampire
- Damsel in Distress: Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker and frequently put in
positions of risk, where they need a male saviour, they embody the
quintessential Gothic heroines
Beloved
Summary – It follows Sethe, a former slave who struggles to grapple with the
trauma of her previous enslavement and come to terms with her desperate act
of infanticide to save her child from slavery.
Gothic Tropes
